I cam across this week’s addict in the r/notebooks community on Reddit. What a lovely and well-organized desk corner, with easy access to a LOT of notebooks!
From Migo984’s comments:
I’ve been looking for a way to store my “in-use†and new notebooks and journals whilst keeping them to hand on my desk. Recently I found two little shelving units that are ideal. They fit neatly in the corner of my desk and even have room for some of my fountain pen storage trays. I added a clip-on LED light and now I’m very happy with my writing and creativity corner 😍
The bottom shelf of the right hand unit is a mixture of my Tomoe paper notebooks (Nanami, Taroko, Galen Leather, Hippo Note, Scriptura Optima & PaperForFountainPens) and my Midori MD notebooks. I tend to keep my new notebooks in their cardboard slipcases or wrappings. Once I start using a Tomoe notebook I usually put it in a slipcover (leather, fabric or PVU). They are on the bottom shelf of the left hand unit.
I lived in Brooklyn for years, but never went to Gage and Tollner, an old-fashioned steakhouse that was an institution there for over 100 years until it closed in 2004. They’re working on reopening soon, and in the process, came across some amazing artifacts. From an article in the New York Times:
Nonetheless, that’s essentially what happened to the new owners of Gage & Tollner, the Brooklyn landmark that dished out steak and seafood in an evocative, gaslight-era atmosphere on Fulton Street from the late 19th century until 2004, and that will reopen March 15.
In December, Ben Schneider, a co-owner, pulled a milk crate full of antique brass hat hooks from a dusty crawl space beneath the roof and spotted behind it several decaying cardboard boxes that appeared to have been languishing there for decades….
The newly unearthed historic materials cover a considerable span of time and subject matter: cryptic handwritten notes about turn-of-the-20th-century cash transactions; menus; price quotes from a butcher; notes on celebrity customers and the prodigious speed of an oyster shucker; correspondence about a restaurant display at the 1939-40 World’s Fair; fliers from a 1948 strike; a 1965 WQXR radio advertisement recording; and a bill from a dinner for retired Brooklyn Dodgers players. These artifacts supplement the information previously provided by seven linear feet of Gage & Tollner records donated to the Brooklyn Historical Society by a longtime owner’s daughter in 2016.
The day books of former owners Ed and Trudy Dewey.Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
The article isn’t clear on exactly what was in these day books, but it talks about various notes that owners kept over the years about the restaurant’s practices, patrons and staff. I’d love to take a look inside those notebooks!
Sixty-two years ago in the western city of Pori, a mysterious sealed envelope from a wealthy banker named Rafael Mellin was handed over to the local association Pori Seura.
The group was established in 1901 and promotes the city’s culture and historical preservation but also is active in local environmental and social issues.
Two weeks ago the Satakunta Museum announced that it was time to open the letter and there has been wild speculation about its contents ever since.
Some have suggested it might contain important banking information, gossip or personal confessions, others said it was empty and part of a decades-long practical joke by Mellin….
The first item pulled from the envelope was a notebook, which appears to be the bank’s secret logs, listing many clients and potential borrowers….
The notebook itself contains the names of hundreds of Pori residents, with more – or less – flattering notes about them. “Unpleasant person,” reads a note about one person, “intelligent and unassuming,” reads another.
Several others read, “Has inherited a better future after his father was secretly engaged to Miss Rosenlew,” “serving time in Kakola [prison] for arson,” “will marry rich,” “acted very poorly,” and so on.
Those notes appear to have been written by bank directors aiming to avoid making bad deals and lending money to the wrong sort of people.
All of the individuals mentioned in the notebook are now deceased, but if the rare book had been published at the beginning of the 1900s, it would have been scandalous, according to Hakala.
Ok, maybe it seems a little crazy but this is a serious question: should we be thinking about disinfecting notebooks during this Coronavirus pandemic? (The same question would apply to pens.)
Imagine you are sitting in a cafe, writing in your notebook. You set it on the tabletop. What if the person sitting there before you had the virus and coughed on the table? That is just one way that infection could at least in theory be spread via a notebook. [UPDATE: Obviously, this was written before the epidemic reached the point where restaurants and cafes were closing. At this point, as a commenter noted, we all need to be staying home!] It’s also possible that while grocery shopping you could touch something that was previously touched by an infected person, and then you touch the notebook where you keep your grocery list. Even if you wash your hands after you shop, you could pick up some germs the next time you touch that notebook, given that the virus can survive for at least a few hours on many surfaces.
Then the question becomes “what’s the best method of disinfecting notebooks?” I figured that some sort of alcohol-based wipe would be ok to use on the cover of most notebooks– and because I felt it was my duty to notebook lovers everywhere, I actually tested this just now. My local grocery store was sold out of every single sanitizing product I could think of except for a few boxes of alcohol prep pads: those tiny wipes nurses use when they’re about to give you a shot. But they contain 70% isopropyl alcohol, which is said to kill the coronavirus, so I bought a couple boxes. 200 wipes for $5 actually seemed like a pretty good deal compared to the prices I’ve seen for Purell wipes! They are very small but I think they’d work fine for cleaning your hands in a pinch. I’m keeping a bunch in my bag for any situation where I might need them, not just for my notebooks.
I spot-tested a wipe on all my daily carry notebooks, which were actually a good range of materials– the leather cover on the Nolty Gold, a linen cloth cover Bindewerk, a vinyl cover on the Nolty Daily Book, and a regular hardcover Moleskine with the traditional black faux leather. In all these cases, the alcohol evaporated and didn’t leave any stain or damage. I would be cautious about using too much alcohol on leather, as I think it could dry it out, but I think disinfecting a notebook is not likely to be something you would need to do on a regular basis unless you are a healthcare worker, and if so, you probably wouldn’t be using something made with really nice leather anyway. In any case, use your own judgment and caution if you do decide to wipe down your own notebooks! [UPDATE: I also used an alcohol wipe on my leather iPhone case and found that some black die came off on the wipe, and the texture of the leather now shows some marks. It seems a matte finish leather might not handle the alcohol as well as the shinier leather of the Nolty.]
I do think the risk of virus transmission via notebooks and pens is pretty small, but I’ve seen a lot of talk about how you should disinfect your phone, so it’s worth thinking about it for notebooks too, especially if you use them in higher risk situations where you’re around a lot of other people, like on public transportation or in a cafe. I personally haven’t been setting my notebooks and pens down on any surfaces outside my own home, just to be on the safer side. (And for those who might think I’m being paranoid, here’s a helpful article I’ve seen shared a lot about why it’s important.)
I’m sure I’m not the only person to have thought about this. Let us know in the comments how you are protecting your notebooks and yourself!
Whatever you do, keep calm, wash your hands, and stay healthy, everyone!
A gallery in Long Beach, CA has an exhibition of sketchbooks, on view until March 20, 2020:
Artist Karina Vasquez’ sketchbook. Courtesy Facebook/Flatline.
The personal sketchbooks of more than 20 local artists will be on display at Flatline gallery, Saturday night. Unique to each artist, sketchbooks tend to be full of observational studies and jotted-down ideas; they’re candid representations of an artist’s thought process, said curator Elizabeth Munzon.
“Many great things happen in a sketchbook that don’t often get shared or put on public display, which is why I decided to curate this exhibition,†Munzon said. “I also love how every sketchbook is unique to its artist and unique to the time period it was being filled in. They can serve as chronological documentation of the evolution of an artist’s work.â€
The Sketchbook Show opens Saturday, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Flatline; 6023 Atlantic Ave. It will be up through March 20, with a closing reception set for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Until then, you can also stop by during regular gallery hours: Thursday through Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more info, click here.Â
I can’t believe this is my first Muji notebook review! I’m a big fan of the Japanese chain Muji. I first went to one of their stores in London at least 15 years ago and loved their minimal aesthetic and practical offerings. Back then, I mainly remember buying a recycled yarn t-shirt and a small wallet that I used for many years until the zipper broke. I would imagine they also sold stationery at that time, but for some reason, it didn’t make an impression on me. But nowadays, the stationery is usually front and center in their stores, with lots of notebooks, pens and fun office supplies to tempt shoppers. I particularly like their glue sticks! But I hadn’t bought a Muji notebook until this one.
I love the look of Muji’s notebooks. They have a nice muted color palette in beige, black and grey, with the occasional pop of orange, blue or green tape on the spine. They have small jotters, wire-o bound notebooks, and larger journals. But for my particular pocket notebook preferences, everything was either a little too small or a little too big until I spotted this rarity: the “A6 Slim” size notebook.
Instead of being a true A6 size, this Muji notebook is just slightly smaller in height, and almost a centimeter smaller in width. It is 92 x 147mm, vs the official A6 dimensions of 105 x 148mm. I am so partial to the 90 x 140mm dimensions of Moleskine and other brands that I can’t bring myself to use a 90 x 150mm Leuchtturm, or other brands that are actual A6 size. But this Muji notebook is close enough for me. (And actually, the Moleskine shown below in the comparison shots measures 92 x 141mm, if we’re really being picky.)
Anyway, this is a great pocket size. The thickness is just under 5mm. The notebook has sturdy cardboard covers, with a taped spine. Once you remove the Muji price sticker, it is totally free of any branding. (The sticker comes off easily and doesn’t leave any residue, but the paper under it is slightly darker.)
Inside you get 80 pages (40 sheets) of plain white paper. (A line/grid version is also available, with a dark grey cover.) The paper is in two stitched signatures, which is what gives you the nicely squared off spine. To me, this is an attractive upgrade from the standard stitched or stapled single-signature pocket notebook.
The paper is creamy and smooth, and works great with almost all pens. There is some bleed-through with wetter pens, but hardly any feathering. I love the way my fountain pens look on the page, and the finer nibs don’t have much bleed-through, but there is enough that I feel like I can’t give this a 100% “fountain pen friendly” rating.
I found myself comparing this to the Kokuyo Sketch Book in terms of its fountain pen compatibility, and also its value. This Muji notebook is $3.00 for 80 pages. The Kokuyo Sketch Book is also 80 pages, larger and has a hard cover, and is usually priced around $5.00, but can be much cheaper if you buy a 10-pack. It’s not really an either/or proposition– these are both great pocket notebooks and a great value.
Muji’s products are mainly sold exclusively in their own stores. You can find some Muji notebooks for sale on Amazon, but unfortunately I didn’t see this model listed. Muji’s website does sell them (Slim Notebook A6 Plain Beige), but shipping starts at $5.95 so you’ll want to buy more than one notebook to make it worthwhile. But this is just the kind of pocket notebook that makes you want to have a dozen of them!
A fascinating article from the BBC about Japan’s traditions around the use of paper. Towards the end, there is a mention of the popularity of using planners such as the Hobonichi Techo:
There are also still strong advocates for paper’s analogue charm in a world that is becoming increasingly digital. Japan’s so-called “techo culture†celebrates the pleasure of organising and documenting ones life in a planner, or techo. Few companies represent the culture better than Hobonichi, whose techos have developed a cult-like following.
That’s thanks to their obsessive attention to detail and some clever design features. The spacing between lines has been tweaked by fractions of a millimetre several times and the planners include a full page for every day of the year. Ensuring a book with more than 400 pages was slim enough to fit in a pocket even forced them to source the perfect paper from Tomoe River, which makes speciality papers for industry.
Customers use the techos for all kinds of reasons, the company says, from planning to journaling to documenting hobbies, but they are also miniature pieces of art and a revealing window into the inner lives of their authors. There’s a growing trend for people to share their beautifully constructed techo pages on Instagram, a vision of paper and digital technology merging.
But in a world where so many aspects of our lives are mediated by our smartphones the techos also provide a more concrete record of our lives, says Yuri Kimura, who like most of Hobonichi’s staff is an avid user. “As long as our life is offline, we need this,†she says. That’s a trend that’s shared with people all over the world as seen in the rise of the hugely popular pen-and-paper organisation system of bullet journals.
I spotted the Tru Red notebook on one of my periodic trips to Staples. This is a house brand for them, manufactured in Turkey, with a variety of notebook styles, page formats and sizes available. When I saw that they had pocket size notebooks with dot grid and squared pages available, I decided to add yet another to my collection of Moleskine clones!
The Tru Red notebook has a nice feel when you pick it up. It feels a little chunky compared to a Moleskine (shown in comparison shots below), and the cover material is softer and more leather-like. The cover boards are somewhat flexible. There is some cover overhang but not the worst I’ve seen. For the most part, everything seemed solidly constructed and square except for the back cover overhang being a little uneven. The corner tucks were a bit ragged, with some raw edges showing.
The exterior dimensions are a little larger than a Moleskine– it is interesting that the dimensions they list on the packaging are 3.5 x 5.5″ / 8.8cm x 13.9 cm, as that seems to be the dimensions of the paper, not the cover, which is actually 9.3 x 14.5 cm.
Inside, you get fun patterned endpapers with a space for you to write your contact info. The inside back cover has a Tru Red logo, but no back pocket. There are two ribbon markers, which is a nice touch, and the usual elastic closure. The notebook opens quite flat, though there is some sort of stiffener in the spine that prevents it from tucking in, which would help it open even flatter when sitting on a desk surface.
The paper is an ivory color and pleasantly smooth. At 128 sheets/256 pages, you get more pages than in most pocket notebooks, which are usually 192 pages. The paper weight isn’t specified, but it feels a little thicker than average. I had high hopes for fountain pen friendliness, but was disappointed– most fountain pen inks feathered a bit and showed spots of bleed-through. Show-through is a little better than average, though. If you are using fine gel pens or pencils, you’ll probably be quite happy with it
I paid $8.99 for this notebook, which is a lot less than a comparable Moleskine or Leuchtturm notebook. (It is available in Staples stores, and on their website, but the price there is $10.99. If you just search “Tru Red” not all products come up, so you may need to dig around more using the category search.) The Tru Red notebook offers more pages and a double ribbon marker, but it lacks a back pocket and the quality control may be a bit less rigid. Whether it is a good value will depend on individual users’ preferences. If you want something inexpensive and fountain pen friendly, the Taotree Notebook available on Amazon is a better bet.
I recently came across a mention of notebooks used by Beethoven:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is recognized the world over as a composer of musical masterpieces exhibiting heroic strength, particularly in the face of his increasing deafness from ca. 1798. By 1818, the Viennese composer had begun carrying blank booklets with him, for his acquaintances to jot their sides of conversations, while he answered aloud. Often, he himself used the pocket-sized booklets to make shopping lists and other reminders, including occasional early sketches for his compositions. Today, 139 of these booklets survive, covering the years 1818 up to the composer’s death in 1827 and including such topics as music, history, politics, art, literature, theatre, religion, and education as perceived on a day-to-day basis in post-Napoleonic Europe.Â
Only the biggest stationery geek in the world goes around saying things like “I LOVE MOTTLED PRESSBOARD!” Only the biggest stationery geeks probably even know what it is… in fact, I myself didn’t know what it was until just recently. Or rather, I knew what it was but I didn’t know what it was called. I always thought of it as “that cool, kind of smooth, not-too-thick cardboard that has a blotchy look to it, that they used to use on report folders and notebook covers.” This is the kind of report cover I’m talking about, which I’m glad to see you can still buy:
I guess technically the material is just called pressboard. Clairefontaine may be the only notebook maker who specifically refers to it as “mottled pressboard,” though I’ve found a few places online that also use that adjective, or “marbled” to describe the variation in color. Clairefontaine is how I happened to come across the term, as I was browsing their website looking at versions of my favorite “Age Bag” notebooks that use a similar cover material. The ones I’m referring to are small cloth bound notebooks with squared paper, which are hard to get/expensive for US delivery (via Amazon). I bought mine in Paris— the notebooks themselves are pretty cheap.
The Age Bag notebooks I bought have a sort of wrinkled, leather-like texture to their pressboard. (Similar notebooks are sometimes branded “Life Unplugged” or “Essentials” in the US.) Other Clairefontaine notebooks in the Europa series seem to have a more traditional smooth texture, though it’s hard to be totally sure from online images.
